TRI-CITY BOARD CHOOSES TWO NEW MEMBERS

Former council member, physical therapist selected

Former Carlsbad City Councilwoman Ramona Finnila and physical therapist James Dagostino have been appointed to fill two vacancies on the seven-member Tri-City Healthcare District board, with both saying they hoped to help improve the image of the panel and the hospital it oversees.

In what could signal a new era of cooperation, the pair were unanimously selected by the board at a special meeting Friday.

Finnila said she hopes “to ensure there are good policies and procedures that guide all the actions on the administrative board.”

She said she also hopes “to develop a camaraderie among the board members.”

The panel has been criticized for its frequent infighting and legal battles.

“The quality of medical care is superb at Tri-City, but what needs to be done is to clear up negative perceptions about the hospital and the board,” Finnila said.

Dagostino said his goal is “to be a responsible board member to help direct this hospital to be a first-class institution.”

“The hospital is like a park or a school,” he said. “Sometimes it gets an unfair shake, but we have good physicians and good people over there.”

Finnila and Dagostino are replacing retired health care executive Wayne Lingenfelter and Charlene Anderson and will serve out the remainder of their terms, set to expire in 2016.

Lingenfelter was elected to the board in November but removed in February by a judge who ruled that Lingenfelter didn’t live in the district at the time of the election.

Anderson was re-elected in November, but resigned in February.

Finnila and Dagostino were chosen from among 14 people who applied for the slots, including Lingenfelter and former board member George Coulter, who challenged Lingenfelter’s election in court.

Coulter, a former psychiatric technician at Tri-City Medical Center, placed sixth in the November election.

The board of the public health care district has been so enmeshed in conflict over the past several years that a San Diego County grand jury in July urged voters to reshape the board in the November election.

Finnila, 72, ran for the board in the November and placed sixth among eight candidates.

She was a Carlsbad councilwoman from 1992 to 2004, was vice chairwoman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, is a member of the California State University President’s Council and is owner of consulting firm Finnila and Associates.

In her application for the Tri-City board, Finnila described herself as “a fiscal conservative, strategic thinker and proponent of good policy.”

“I have tenacity, a strong moral fiber and good problem-solving skills,” she wrote. “I also have the time to study all issues and serve.”

Dagostino, 65, is a community member of the Tri-City board’s Human Resources Board and a member of the board’s Fiduciary and Pension Committee. He also serves as a special consultant to the board’s Human Resources Committee.

Dagostino wrote in his application that the health care district “has fallen victim to a poor image.”

“Some of it self-caused, some through no fault of its leaders, but I would strive to demonstrate to our citizens that Tri-City stands ready to provide deserved excellent healthcare.”

The Tri-City board oversees a district that provides hospital and health care services for more than 500,000 people in Carlsbad, Ocean-side and Vista.